During pregnancy, about half of women experience a symptom that is called pregnancy gingivitis. Gingivitis is defined as inflammation of the gums, and is typically caused with the accumulation of plaque and tartar, and the bacteria associated with it.

Happy New Year everyone! This week I am writing about palatal expanders, a tool we frequently use in orthodontic treatment. Most children and teens who need braces will get them during the middle school years. However, some children also need a short course of orthodontic treatment earlier, during elementary school, to treat an emerging bite problem such as a crossbite or crowding.

Multiple patients have asked me about using charcoal toothpaste to whiten their teeth, and also, as a daily toothpaste. I personally have not tried charcoal toothpaste, but I have looked into its benefits and cons.

In 2017, I obtained board certification in a small but growing field within dentistry: dental sleep medicine. No, it does not mean doing fillings and crowns on patients while they are asleep – that is more appropriately referred to as “sedation dentistry.” Dental sleep medicine is the treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) with dental appliances that resemble a mouthguard or nightguard.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday! We had a wonderful time with family and with our of town friends visiting us. On top of celebrating the holiday I also took calls for our 3 offices. While this seems to some like it could be a challenging part of our job it is really an opportunity to help, guide and sometimes change people's lives.

Chestnut Dental is thrilled to announce that 14 of our doctors are on the 2018 Top Dentists List in the August issue of Boston Magazine. We are honored and humbled that our doctors were selected to be included on this list through a survey of 4,000 dentists in the Greater Boston area.

On a daily basis, I get asked by parents when is the best time to stop a pacifier or thumb-sucking habit. As we all know, it is normal for most babies to use a pacifier or thumb as a self-soothing mechanism from an early age, even in utero!

As an orthodontist the most common treatment I provide is braces or Invisalign to straighten teeth and correct the bite. However, I see patients with a wide range of needs that require treatment beyond the typical scope.

It’s been an exciting few years, first planning for our newest location in Bedford and then opening the office. Over the years, many of our Needham and Franklin patients have said that they wished we had an office closer to them.

Fluoridation of water in the United States was named by Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) as one of the ten greatest public health achievements of the 20th century. Obviously, given my profession, I one hundred percent support the fluoridation of water and to go one step further, I endorse the use of fluoride toothpaste.